


Pepper

by donniedont



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cats, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29319957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donniedont/pseuds/donniedont
Summary: Dedue watched Ashe open up his internet browser, going onto the website and humming to himself.  He looked up at the kittens, smiling when he saw Pepper jump up with her paws over her head.He turned back to Ashe and frowned.  Ashe typed for a while, eventually turning toward him and tilting his head.“What’s wrong?” Ashe asked.Dedue shrugged.  “I’m not sure,” he admitted.Dedue doesn't know how to let go of a very special kitten.  Featured in the Ashe x Dedue Storybook!
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	Pepper

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to the mods of the Ashe x Dedue Storybook for putting this project together! It was a very successful project for a lovely ship!

Dedue woke up to the feeling of something tugging on his skin.

He froze, wondering if he was dreaming. He was prone to it in the morning, so it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. He felt it again, realizing that it came with a cool, slimy sensation afterwards. This must have been a tongue.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw a blurry black cloud in the corner of his vision. As sleep slowly wore off, he remembered that he currently lived with four kittens. It wasn’t a decision that he would typically make. His family favored dogs and he would have been content continuing that tradition, until his boyfriend, Ashe, made a request. He wasn’t the type to give into every request his boyfriend made, but this one felt fine enough. They were fostering kittens. They would have to leave the house eventually. 

As much as he didn’t want to be licked by a kitten in the early morning, at least he understood how he got here.

He tried to gently wedge his hand between his face and the kitten’s mouth, hearing his Ashe giggling. 

“Is it Pepper again?” Dedue asked.

“Of _course_ it’s Pepper,” Ashe said, “It’s always Pepper.”

Dedue slowly got up, guiding Pepper into his lap. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, mumbling to himself. He glanced over the side of the bed, spotting Pepper’s three siblings watching curiously.

Pepper leaned her chin against the crook of his arm. He lightly ran his and along her fur. It had been slowly poofing outward, a sure sign that she was going to grow up to be a longhaired cat. She was seemingly the bravest of the four kittens, determining that her favorite spot to be in the evening was Dedue’s chest, Dedue’s stomach, or the space between his shoulder blades. When she decided that Ashe and Dedue had slept enough, she began licking his face until the two of them gave in.

The last thing that Dedue wanted to admit was that he was definitely getting trained by a creature that had only walked the earth for three months, even if he knew that it was probably true.

Ashe yawned, running his fingers through his hair. “Remind me that I have to put their listing up on Petfinder.”

Dedue froze. Pepper bonked her head against his hand until he resumed petting her. Of course they needed to get started on having these kittens get adopted out. That was the point of fostering kittens. 

“Of course,” he replied. He held Pepper in place as Ashe shuffled out of the bed, Pepper eventually joining her siblings as they cried at him, expressing how starving they were due to the empty bowls just outside of their room.

Dedue followed behind, stretching as he watched Ashe scoop food and pour it in the bowls as the kittens continued to mewl at him. Dedue joined his side, resting his head against Ashe’s shoulder and smiling when Ashe rubbed the shaved part of his head. “I’m going to miss them,” Ashe murmured.

“We can always foster again,” Dedue replied. It was the truth. From what he could tell, their area had a never ending amount of kittens. They would be doing a service. 

Ashe and Dedue watched the kittens eat a little longer, Ashe eventually ducking toward the kitchen and Dedue following behind him. They meticulously began to clean the kitchen, Dedue putting dried dishes away as Ashe began to clean new ones. Dedue put plates away, feeling another rough tongue against his ankle. He looked down and sighed. Pepper stuck out her pink tongue against his skin. 

Ashe looked over his shoulder and laughed. “I guess she’s done eating,” he noted.

Pepper continued to follow Ashe and Dedue the rest of the day. While her siblings were content playing with each other, she preferred to follow her foster parents. Ashe tried to make sure she didn’t attack the Swiffer as he wiped down the floor. Dedue worked around her as he cleared off the kitchen table. It was amusing seeing how much she wanted to be a part of the mundane tasks of doing chores on a Saturday morning.

They eventually cleaned up the apartment enough that the two of them finally relaxed, melting onto the couch. Ashe and Dedue came together as if they were magnets, slotting together until there was no space between the two of them. Ashe brought his arms around Dedue, humming to himself as he pressed his face against the side of Dedue’s neck.

Ashe snorted and Dedue immediately felt the tiny pricks of paws against his sweatpants. They ceased, immediately replaced with the feeling of something battling at Dedue’s pants. He sighed, opening his eyes and seeing Pepper playing with the drawstring of his sweatpants. 

“Oh, Pepper… come here,” Ashe hissed, letting go of Dedue to lean down and grab a toy from the floor. It was enough to distract here, the cat running toward Ashe, eyeing the stuffed mouse curiously. Ashe tossed it and Pepper raced toward it. 

Ashe watched her pounce on the toy, her siblings joining her. Ashe tucked a piece of hair behind his ear and froze up. 

“I need to make those listings,” he murmured. He grabbed his laptop off the coffee table and leaned back, fitting against Dedue’s side again. 

Dedue watched Ashe open up his internet browser, going onto the website and humming to himself. He looked up at the kittens, smiling when he saw Pepper jump up with her paws over her head. 

He turned back to Ashe and frowned. Ashe typed for a while, eventually turning toward him and tilting his head. 

“What’s wrong?” Ashe asked.

Dedue shrugged. “I’m not sure,” he admitted.

“Why would you suddenly get upset if I was trying to make an adoption listing?” Ashe asked.

Dedue pursed his lips. He truly considered Ashe’s question. He should not have any issue with this happening. I was part of their position with fostering kittens. Of course they had to let them go. 

He heard a crash and he looked up, Pepper was slamming herself against the loveseat, most likely because her toy had gotten stuck underneath. He sighed, walking toward her and bending down to locate the toy. He tossed it in the opposite direction, Pepper racing toward the toy. When he looked up, he saw Ashe watching him and smiling.

“What?” Dedue asked.

Ashe’s lips formed into a full smile.

“ _What_?” Dedue asked.

“You don’t want Pepper to leave,” Ashe said. Even with the smile, he didn’t sound accusatory. 

“I…” Dedue started, “I mean, I would miss her. Who wouldn’t?”

Ashe nodded, lowering his head toward the laptop. “We can keep her if you truly want?”

Dedue looked down at Pepper again. She finished playing with the toy, walking toward him and sitting down, looking up at him.

“We could?” Dedue asked.

“Of course,” Ashe said. Pepper dove for Dedue’s feet and he winced. “Though I think you’re going to have to make sure she has enough exercise.”

Dedue laughed softly, reaching for the toy again. “I think I can do that,” he said, tossing it and watching her charge toward it.


End file.
